Incase you didn’t know by now, I love to side hustle. I even started this blog so I could share all my crazy experiences with side hustles so I could pay off my credit card debt.
There are so many different reasons to side hustle:
Get out of debt
Save for vacation
Pay bills
Save for college
Extra spending money
Pay off student loans
Pay off your mortgage faster
And more!
I’ve compiled an epic list of side hustles ideas for you to try. I have done the majority of side hustles on this list, so I can speak from first hand experience that this side hustle list is legit.
Side Hustle Ideas
Deliver Drugs
Yup, did this. I worked at a private pharmacy, helped package it and then delivered it. It was pretty crazy and you can learn more about it here.
Sell on Ebay
If you aren’t sure how to even get started on how to sell and ship things on Ebay, this tutorial will walk you through everything you need to know. This is a classic side hustle and still lucrative.
Jayleen from Sunshine and Rainy Days breaks down all the tools and methods she uses to sell on Ebay.
Make money at auctions
The Second Hand Millionaires are the champs of going to auctions, purchasing items at a great price and then flipping them. They are sharing all their secrets, hints and tips here.
Become a vendor at the farmer’s market or craft fair
Sometimes the best way to sell something is to get out in your community. This works great if you are selling something perishable, a craft you have made, etc. This is a great way to make extra income, test your products and get feedback.
This post will teach you how I got started, what all goes into becoming a vendor and how I became the farmer’s market manager (which was a paid part time job!)
Write a book
This is such a great way to make money and can turn into passive income.
My friend Allison wrote a book about how to budget as a beginner and my friend David wrote a book about how to hustle away debt. Both are on Amazon, which is one way you call sell your book.
Like children’s books? This blogger writes custom children’s books, which is an amazing side hustle.
I wrote this book about mystery shops and panel studies and offer it on Gumroad. Every panel study and survey company that is in this epic list of side hustles can be found in my book!
These days there are so many different platforms to sell your book and it’s a great way to continuously earn income.
Sell electronics for parts
When my Macbook broke beyond repair, I placed an ad on Craigslist to see if anyone wanted a broken Mac. A bidding war broke out! I kept the hard drive, and then scrapped the parts for around $350. Not bad!
If you have any old laptops, computers, phones, etc. wipe them clean and consider selling them for parts. I had no idea this was such a lucrative business until the guy I sold my laptop told me how much parts go for online.
Ebates
Ebates is my absolute favorite company to use when I’m shopping online. Hello, it’s free money!
Every time I shop online, I always start at Ebates. They have a list of all the places you normally shop at and you just click on the store you want to visit online. After you make a purchase, you earn a percentage of the sale! They literally give you cash back on every purchase you make. The money is then deposited into your PayPal account.
I’ve made over $700 from shopping online and earning cash back. If you are new to Ebates, you can get $10 off your first $25 purchase.
Ibotta
This cell phone app helps you make money off your grocery receipts. Yup, for real! You use it after you go grocery shopping and use your receipt. It’s basically a rebate app, so you can earn anywhere from 50 cents to $5 off everything you buy.
My favorite part about Ibotta is that it’s not always brand specific, like a lot of coupons are. So you’ll be able to scan “any brand of bread” for 50 cents off, etc. If you do coupon – you can STILL use Ibotta and get a rebate. For the diehard couponers out there, this will often result in getting an item for FREE. When you sign up, you will receive a $10 cash bonus when you make your first scan!
Petsitter
I signed up to be a professional petsitter on Rover. This was a great side hustle job at the time as I was working from home and could really commit to this. First of all, this job is not for everyone. I feel strongly that you must love pets or it is not fair for everyone involved.
Provide Lessons
My friend Kristen from Joyfully Thriving teaches piano lessons. If you have a musical talent, why not teach others?
This also applies to teaching tutorials in person and other lessons. When I needed to brush up on my Quickbooks skills, I worked with a tutor for a couple evenings at my local Panera Bread to learn the latest update. If you excel with apps or computer programs, that’s a valuable service. You could advertise on Craigslist or local job boards.
Create a course
Gina Horkey career has blown up since she quit her job to freelance full time. She has done so well she even created a course on how to become a virtual assistant in under 30 days so others could learn from her.
I created the Pinterest Presence course for fellow bloggers and businesses. My monthly page views skyrocketed from 1,000 to 160,000 in under a year, which was crazy. So many people asked me how I did it, so I created a course to help other people. If you need Pinterest help, want to drive traffic to your website or have no idea how to make images that people on Pinterest will click on, I can help!
Potato Chip Taster
I have completed a few of these taste tests and wish I could complete more! I have paid to sit for an hour and taste various food products and provide my opinion.
Coffee study panel
I completed a 2 hour panel study on coffee and was paid $150. This study panel was completed with about a dozen other people. We sat around a large table and answered questions from a moderator on all things related to coffee. This was a lot of fun!
Create a service
I offer monthly Pinterest maintenance and create images for fellow bloggers and businesses. What are you good at?
Think about turning your hobby or something you excel at into a service that helps others. This could be creating stock photos, writing newsletters, researching articles – there is a ton of things out there that people need help with.
If you cook, make meals for someone who is short on time. Provide cleaning services, run errands for someone or help someone get organized. People are super busy and often times will pay for help if it makes their lives easier.
Sniffer
Yes, I have been paid to sniff things and give my opinion. I have sniffed dryer sheets, soap and dish detergent. Each of these sniff tests took about 30-45 minutes and I was compensated between $20 – $45 for my time.
Pour Alcohol
If you like talking to people and are outgoing, this would be the perfect side hustle. You get to set up at different venues and pass out free samples. My Debt Epiphany shares how she side hustled by passing out free booze.
Test products
I have tested shampoo, body wash, mascara and foundation from high end, well known brands – I have done several online surveys where I have been asked to replace my regular skincare products with a tester and record my opinion over the course of a couple weeks.
Each study paid between $10-$25 and is an easy way to make money from home and test out products!
Vodka drinker
I was provided a large bottle of a well known brand and asked to consume this product over the course of a month. I was not required to drink the entire bottle (ha!) but mainly document how I incorporate the liquor if I was having a cocktail. I was compensated $50 and got to keep the remaining liquor.
Review curtains
I gave my opinion on how I felt about different drapery rods. These curtain rods came in a bevy of styles and finishes. This took 20 minutes of my time and I was compensated $25.
Eat beef jerky
This was the most challenging side hustle I have ever done.I was also young and desperate for some extra money, so I went for it. I cannot stand beef jerky, but somehow managed to qualify and partake in a 1 hour study where I was allowed to eat as much beef jerky as I wanted and review various flavors. Never again – but I was compensated $40.
Donate plasma
This is not for the faint of heart. I tried this a couple times and it was too much for me. After the initial 4 hour exam of blood work, a physical and filling out paperwork, I was able to donate plasma twice a week, with each visit taking roughly an hour.
Unfortunately, I fainted after donating and that was the end of that side hustle! However, most people are fine and donate on a regular basis.
Compensation was $20 or $25 each visit and was loaded onto a pre-paid Visa card I could use anywhere.
Dog Walker
This is a really great side hustle that can be pretty consistent. I used to dog walk for 30 minutes and charged $20 per walk. Most of my clients needed me 3-4 times a week and this was regular income.
I started with Rover, but also put up a sign at my building and got really busy. This is a booming side hustle and perfect if you love dogs! You could put up signs at the dog park, your apartment complex, coffee shop – pretty much any public space.
To look more professional, you could create a free website listing your services. It doesn’t have to be fancy; just create a page listing your services and an about page. This will give you a professional look without spending any money!
Play a videogame
This study was done through a local college. I found the ad posted online through the school’s local newspaper/website.
I was with a team of 3 other people around a computer and the study was how well we worked as a team solving a problem in a video game.
Students receive grants to test theories/studies and use the grant money to pay for their research, which includes paying others for their time. I was paid $50 for 90 minutes of my time.
Part time retail job
One year I wasn’t able to go home over the holidays so I sought out a part time holiday job. Because I worked a full time, Monday to Friday job, I opted for 1-2 evening shifts and 1 weekend day.
This amounted to 12-16 hours a week and between $140-$190 a week before taxes. Another bonus was the company discount, which was a 35% discount for seasonal employees. I even stayed on with the company after the holidays for a few months as I enjoyed working with my fellow employees and genuinely liked the company I worked for.
Easy Shift
This is another cell phone app where you can pick up quick, 5 to 10 minute mystery shops on your cell phone. Most of the shifts take place at the grocery store or drugstore. The shop involves using your cell phone to snap pictures of grocery aisles or a certain food product.
The shifts don’t pay a lot – especially if you live in a big city – but you can make anywhere from $4 to $12 each shift you accept. Once you finish the shop, you get the money in your PayPal account within a couple days. Because the pay is low, I try to time my regular trip to the grocery store with a shift to save on time and gas!
Sell textbooks
Do you really need to keep all your textbooks from college? Get rid of them via Craigslist or Half.com, which is owned by eBay. Selling your college textbooks back to your school is one of the worst ways to make money and very rarely pay well.
When I completed my 2nd college degree, I had a textbook that I purchased new for a little over $300. This was a new textbook and could not be purchased used anywhere- trust me, I looked! When I went to see how much the school was offering to buy it back, I was offered ZERO dollars because the school wasn’t sure it would be using the textbook again.
So I posted the book online at Half.com and it sold for roughly $250 within a month of posting.
Sell old stuff on Craigslist
When I moved, I got rid of a ton of stuff on Craigslist. Since my goal was to become more of a minimalist, and I just had stuff laying around, I decided to try my luck. I have sold everything from patio furniture to books to leftover pavers from a home improvement project.
My biggest tips would be to provide a full description with lots of pictures.
Shopkick
I love using the Shopkick cell phone app. You earn “kicks” AKA points every time you go to the grocery store, the drugstore, Target or at the mall. You can also earn extra “kicks” if you scan in items at the store.
Once you earn enough kicks, you can redeem them for FREE gift cards in denominations of $5, $10 and $25. I’ve redeemed my “kicks” at Target, but there are a ton of stores to choose from, like Macy’s, Starbucks, Walmart and more.
I’ve made over $150 with Shopkick from scanning items and walking into stores I normally go to anyways.
Sell on Etsy
I personally love Etsy. I used to have my own shop and made a nice part time income over the course of two years. You can sell pretty much anything on Etsy, whether it’s crafting, edibles or even things like tutorials!
I’ve purchased Christmas card templates, cat toys, beer kits, cheese kits and a ton of other stuff on Etsy. If you can imagine it, you can sell it on Etsy.
Create products with Zazzle
Zazzle lets you create and design all your own products, and then sell them on your website or Zazzle’s website! You earn a commission of each sale and set your own rates. Nikki from MBASAHM wrote an amazing post about how these odd items make her big profits!
Sell Halloween costumes on eBay
This is most profitable in August, September and beginning of October. If you wear a costume once, keep the packaging. You can resell a gently used costume, often at a great price.
I have also sold dog costumes my dogs have worn. My dogs wore their costumes for a couple hours on Halloween, but that’s it! I have the photos and memories and don’t need to keep every costume or outfit they wear. People will often pay almost full retail for dog costumes, and I have easily made back the money I initially spent!
Participate in a medical study
This is a great way to accomplish a couple things- improve your health and get compensated for it! I participated in a particular study that compensated me $100 for each return visit and this study lasted several months. It eventually rolled over into a similar study and I was compensated a similar amount. You can read about my adventure here.
There are a ton of medical studies out there, such as quitting smoking, asthma, ADHD, depression, etc.
Freelance in similar field of work
Every couple years, I help similar companies in my field of work (outside of blogging) with updating their records, renewing certifications with the state and filing paperwork. Each job ranged between 10-15 hours and paid around $300.
Become an Uber or Lyft Driver
I have met several people that do this part time and full time. It takes about a week to go through the entire set-up process. You have to have a smartphone for this as the program runs through an app. It takes about a week to get paid for each ride that you complete.
Sell your services on Fiverr
If you are just getting started freelancing, this can be a quick way to get started making money. Most jobs pay $5 (hence the name), but you can add in extra options to drive up the cost. There are a lot of freelancers who make a living full time selling on Fiverr.
Accept a short term contract position
I accepted a 3 month contract position on top of my regular, full time job. The contract position was similar to my full time job title but gave me the opportunity to branch out to a slightly different line of work that I hadn’t done before.
This position turned into 6 months and there were numerous benefits to accepting the contract. While the pay rate was just good, not great, I was able to work from home, learn a new niche in my field of work, make new contacts and update my resume!
If you have time, why not see what else is available in your career niche?
Mystery shopping
This is becoming more and more popular as there are a ton of websites you can sign up with. I list all the best ones I have worked with here.
I have completed shops that include trips to the aquarium, sporting events, Walt Disney World, theme parks, fancy restaurants, casual restaurants and department stores. It’s super easy and fun!
You can learn more about mystery shopping from these posts:
How I Made Over $2,000 from Side Hustles
How I Made Over $4,500 from Side Hustles
How to Make More Money this Year
Mystery Shopping: Did You Know
Why You Can Mystery Shop From Anywhere
How to Eat for Free
Clean someone’s closet
This was a referral through a customer and I got paid hourly to organize and clean a master closet. This took an afternoon and I made about $100.
Help small businesses
This side hustles relates to my day job. A couple of businesses reached out to me to see if I could help with some organizational paperwork. I helped these small businesses with renewing business licenses, reviewing CEU classes, resale certificates, etc. This was an easy job for me, I enjoyed it and completely worthwhile.
Start a blog
I went from making $40/month to over $4,000/month in the span of six months. That’s crazy! You can learn more here:
How to Start a Blog
How to Start a Blog on Bluehost
Blogging has totally changed my life. I even share my online income reports so other people can see how I got started and how I am growing. Here are a few blog posts on how I make money from blogging:
My First Blog Income Report
How I Made More Than $500 Blogging Online
How I Made More Than $1,500 Online
How I Made Over $4,200 Last Month
So there you have it – my epic list of side hustle ideas. It’s crazy to think I have tried about 95% of these. Hopefully you can find a side hustle that works for you.
What’s the craziest side hustle you have ever done?
Let’s make this side hustle list even more epic. List your unique side hustle below!
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